​Her Majesty The Queen will be handing over the role of Barnardo’s Patron to HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.

It was announced today that Her Majesty is stepping down as Patron from a number of national organisations. This decision follows the example set by The Duke of Edinburgh who resigned from a number of Patronages on the occasion of his 90th birthday in 2011.

Javed Khan, the Chief Executive of Barnardo’s, said:

"We are extremely grateful for Her Majesty The Queen’s generous time and Patronage, together with her dedication to the work of Barnardo’s since 1983. The Royal Family has given us tremendous support throughout our history, and there has been a royal Patron since 1902 and Royal Presidents from 1923. I am delighted that HRH The Duchess of Cornwall - our current President, has graciously accepted the role of our new Patron."

The Duchess of Cornwall was appointed Barnardo’s president in 2007. She wasted no time, embarking on a series of visits to see the vital work of Barnardo’s first hand. Her first visit was in November 2007 to High Close School in Wokingham where she met with staff and young people, as she visited the school’s many facilities and dropped in on science, maths and drama lessons.

In 2014, in a speech at Clarence House during an event for Barnardo’s, she praised the achievements of what she described as a “unique charity”.

She added:

"Over the past few years I have visited several inspirational projects which are not only very impressive but very humbling too, and I believe that it is thanks to the dedication of Barnardo's highly skilled staff and volunteers that these places exist at all without their care and counselling these young people would still be floundering alone in a frightening world."

In the past year HRH The Duchess of Cornwall has been very supportive of the charity, visiting a range of services and hosting a Buckingham Palace Garden Party to mark our 150th anniversary.